True or False?

• Networking is always the best way to get a job.
• I won't find an entry-level job through the newspaper.
• Employment agencies only place secretaries.
• I'm at a real disadvantage if my parents don't have a lot of contacts.
• The more places I send my resume, the better my chances of getting a job.

Believe it or not, all these statements are false. They're too extreme and can be misleading as you plan your job search. Blanket statements like these result in cookie-cutter job searches, which can't account for the experiences of all job seekers. Instead of trying to find the last word on job search, consider all job-search methods as potentially effective, then mix and match them into a strategy that fits your goals and your resources. Your job search must be diversified, balanced, personalized, and based on a quality-over-quantity philosophy.

Diversified and Balanced
We suggest using many job-finding techniques concurrently during your search. You might, for example, put most of your efforts into networking, but also answer an occasional newspaper ad, send some broadcast letters to companies on your hit list, and sign up with an employment agency. As long as you stay organized, keeping track of all the irons in the fire, the diversified approach can be quite effective.

Personalized and Tailored
Your search should be tailored to fit the type of job you're aiming for. Some industries, like television, film, and radio, are just about impenetrable without active networking. If you seek a position with an elite management consulting firm, check out on-campus recruiting for undergrads or MBA candidates. By doing research through people, computers, and libraries, you can find out which strategies work best for your career goals.

Also consider personalizing your search to fit your own resources. If you have endless personal or family contacts in a given field, then it's not a bad idea to focus most of your efforts on networking. If writing persuasively is a strength but networking terrifies you, concentrate more on an effective written campaign to get interviews. Whatever your own strengths and resources, use them to your advantage whether or not that method meshes with what others claim is the only way to find a job.

Quality Over Quantity
During your search, someone will inevitably ask, "How many resumes have you sent out?" Never mind that the direct-mail approach is rarely the best way to go, the quantity issue being emphasized is the real problem with that question. You're much better off spending time carefully constructing one letter targeted to one classified ad or ten letters tailored to ten companies than you are dashing off responses to twenty ads or doing a merge mailing of one generic letter to two hundred companies.

The whole aim of a job search is to make yourself more than just a face (or resume) in the crowd. Mass mailings won't do it. Neither will shaking fifty hands at a networking meeting instead of having in-depth conversations with two people. Don't be afraid to limit your contacts as long as you're not just being lazy but are genuinely putting your best effort into the quality of a smaller quantity of approaches.